Though Joe Gomez went into his 10th campaign at Liverpool with doubts over his future, the versatile defender has now been thrust back into the forefront of Arne Slot’s plans.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
In a title race defined, in these early months at least, by injuries, Arne Slot’s Liverpool have navigated their own ongoing problems with almost effortless ease.
Despite Alisson, Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa all spending lengthy spells on the sidelines, the head coach has managed his squad effectively while overseeing 18 wins and a draw from his first 20 games in charge.
Those results leave Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, already qualified for the next round of the Champions League after five wins from five and into the League Cup quarter-finals, where they will travel to Southampton.
In Slot’s words, injuries are viewed through the lens of a side’s results, telling reporters last week: “I think in general people only talk about injuries if the results are not there, so it’s a good thing that nobody talked about our injuries. That means that we got our results in.”
Soon after, though, the narrative changed to a degree with the absences of Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley confirmed, along with a setback in the recovery of Kostas Tsimikas. Konaté and Bradley are not expected back until next year, while the sight of Tsimikas on crutches and wearing a protective boot suggests the Greek will not return before January either.
“Five defenders for four positions going into a month like this is far from ideal,” Slot admitted before Sunday’s clash with Manchester City at Anfield – a point when, despite their form, the treatment room became so full people finally began to talk about Liverpool’s injuries.
Without his first-choice centre-back and with Trent Alexander-Arnold only having just returned from three weeks out with a hamstring injury, Slot was forced to take risks with his back line against the reigning champions.
Alexander-Arnold was brought straight back into the starting lineup in place of his stand-in Bradley, while Joe Gomez was given the nod over youngster Jarell Quansah as partner to Virgil van Dijk at centre-back.
For the first time since the 5-2 loss to Real Madrid at Anfield in February 2023, a back four long considered Liverpool’s strongest was reunited in the starting lineup: Alexander-Arnold at right-back, Gomez and Van Dijk at centre-back and Andy Robertson at left-back.
There would have been few concerns, then, about a lack of cohesion, but the manner in which Liverpool’s defence reprised their strong form up against the likes of Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and, later in the game, the direct and dangerous Jérémy Doku and Savinho, was a credit to the dedication of one player in particular.
Gomez was making his first Premier League start of the season and his first of any kind since the end of October, with his only two previous starts under Slot coming in the League Cup against West Ham and Brighton. Prior to Sunday, he had clocked only 84 minutes on the pitch in the league and Champions League combined, averaging 14 minutes per outing.
But he was near-faultless as Liverpool suffocated Manchester City on their way to a 2-0 win which, even on the basis of xG (3.57-0.84), should have ended with an even more convincing scoreline.
No Liverpool player had more touches of the ball than Gomez (79), who naturally also completed the most passes (67/76) for a success rate of 88 percent – the fifth-highest of any of Slot’s starters. He left the defensive actions to Van Dijk, who made a game-high 13 to his two, but led in terms of ball recoveries (seven) and won both of his duels (one in the air, one on the ground).
Alexis Mac Allister (six) was the only Liverpool player to make more passes into the final third than Gomez (five), whose remit alongside Van Dijk was in mopping up and progressing play while the captain shut down Haaland with ease.
It was a hugely encouraging start for a player who was required to come in from the cold – and will hopefully serve as a prelude to a vital run of starts as Gomez becomes one of Slot’s most important players.
With Konaté, Bradley and Tsimikas all out, Liverpool are without their leading centre-back and their natural backups at right-back and left-back respectively.
That comes at the beginning of a month where the Reds will play eight more times across three competitions, and having opened up such a resounding lead over their Premier League rivals, the onus is on them to keep the momentum going.
While Slot had rotated effectively when the majority of his defenders were fit – before Sunday, no player had been subbed off more than Alexander-Arnold (nine) and Robertson had not started more than two games in a row since mid-September – an absence of alternatives will now put pressure on his still-fit starters.
With five defenders for four positions and Newcastle, Everton, Girona, Fulham, Southampton, Tottenham, Leicester and West Ham all to come in the space of 26 days (a game every 3.25 days on average), Liverpool are fortunate they have the equivalent of a skeleton key still fit.
Gomez, who almost joined Newcastle in a £45 million deal over the summer and was left out of the first game of the season amid uncertainty over his future, is proficient at all three roles across the back line.
Though considered a natural centre-back, only 106 of his 233 appearances for Liverpool have come in that role; 93 have been as a right-back, 31 at left-back and three as a defensive midfielder. Under Slot so far this season, Gomez has played four times as a centre-back, four as a right-back and once as a left-back.
That makes him an invaluable asset for the month ahead and likely beyond, as first choice alongside Van Dijk but also a reliable option to cover for Robertson and Alexander-Arnold when their workload needs to be managed.
It is a strange twist of fate for a player who has so often found himself on the fringes at Liverpool – through injury or the form of others – only to prove his value time and time again when called upon.
(Images from IMAGO)
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